Six Women Pioneers Who Advanced Aviation

Tuesday, March 01, 2022 at 10:31 AM ET

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Harriet Quimby started as a writer and became interested in aviation after attending the 1910 International Aviation Tournament. [Courtesy: Library of Congress]

Key Takeaways:

Women have played a crucial role in aviation since its inception, consistently breaking barriers and achieving numerous "firsts" in flight history.
Pioneers such as Harriet Quimby (first U.S. licensed woman pilot), Jacqueline Cochran (first woman to break the sound barrier), and Geraldine Mock (first woman to fly solo around the world) set critical benchmarks.
Other notable figures include Neta Snook Southern, who instructed Amelia Earhart, Ann Carl, the first American woman to fly a jet, and Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo, the first woman pilot hired by a major U.S. international airline.
These trailblazing women demonstrated exceptional skill and persistence, significantly expanding the roles and opportunities for women in aviation.

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Editor’s Note: This article is part of a month-long series to mark Women’s History Month: March 1: Pioneers of Women’s Aviation | March 2: Carole Hopson | March 4: Martha King | March 8: Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance | March 11: The Air Race Classic | March 15: Sisters of the Skies | March 18: Women in Aviation Conference | March 22: Women In Aviation: The Numbers | March 22: The first graduating class of Air Force female pilots. | March 25: Bonny Simi of Joby Aviation | March 29: Top Female Difference Makers in Aviation

Women have been involved with airplanes since the earliest days of flight, from Katharine Wright managing her brothers’ bicycle shop and flight operations around 1903 to the first “licensed” women pilots taking to the skies a decade later, followed by barnstormers, racers, and record setters in the 1920s and 1930s.